My travels have recently taken me up from the NSW north coast to a truly wild world of mountains. After my book talk at the new Bellingen Library I drove up a very winding road to the Dorrigo Plateau.
Concentrating on the bends, I couldn’t see much apart from tree ferns and tall tres and red mud road slips being mended.
But right at the top was my motel, the Lookout Motor Inn. And look out it certainly did, all the way back to the sea.
A nearby lookout further along the side road that the motel was on (Maynard Plains Road) gave stupendous views to the west, where mountains crumpled forever into the distance. My heart warmed at seeing such a vast wilderness area.
Next morning I headed off towards Armidale, but the Dorrigo Plateau continued to offer car-stopping views.
Famous for dairying and potato growing as well as rainforest, the combination of the rich green man-made paddock foregrounds and the wild country just over the edge made beautiful compositions and contrasts.